"the track beam by bolts passing clear through. Two vertically placed rails for the balancing or friction wheels were carried by the upper track beam. The distance from out to out between the lower rails was 22½ inches, this being sufficient to insure the necessary transverse stiffness. This was the gauge of the road. The distance between the upper rails was 17½ inches. It was expected to adopt the common form of rail, beveling the edges of the lower stringers and placing the rail at an angle of about 45 degrees. The rails were in the form of a right"
"that they are apart to be called the ""track"". In the case of a rail wheelset the ""track"" is called ""wheel gauge"" and is measured from wheel flange reference line to wheel flange reference line wheels of any rail car or tram. Axle track The axle track in automobiles and other wheeled vehicles which have two or more wheels on an axle, is the distance between the centerline of two roadwheels on the same axle. In a case of the axle with dual wheels, the centerline in the middle of the dual wheel is used for the axle track specification."
"gauge"" are relative to the generally adopted standard. In British practice, the space between the rails of a track is colloquially referred to as the ""four-foot"", and the space between two tracks the ""six-foot"", descriptions relating to the respective dimensions. In common usage the term ""standard gauge"" refers to . In modern usage, broad gauge generally refers to track spaced significantly wider than . The term ""medium gauge"" had different meanings throughout history, depending on the local dominant gauge in use. During the period known as ""the Battle of the gauges"", Stephenson's standard gauge was commonly known as ""narrow gauge"","
"Dual gauge A dual gauge railway is a track that allows the passage of trains of two different track gauges. It is sometimes called a ""mixed gauge"" track. A dual gauge track consists of three rails. There will be two vital rails (""gauge"" rails), one for each gauge close together and a third rail, a ""common"" rail further away. Sometimes, four rails are required using two outer and two inner rails to create the dual gauge. Dual gauge is not to be confused with a ""third rail"" (the electric current traction rail) or ""check or guard rails"". Rail gauge, the"
"Siding (rail) A siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line or branch line or spur. It may connect to through track or to other sidings at either end. Sidings often have lighter rails, meant for lower speed or less heavy traffic, and few, if any, signals. Sidings connected at both ends to a running line are commonly known as loops; those not so connected may be referred to as single-ended or dead-end sidings, or (if short) stubs. Sidings may be used for marshalling (classifying), stabling,"
"is called hump deviation. On the other hand, if the midpoint has lower elevation, it is called dip deviation. These deviations from design alignment are used as parameters to assign speed limits. Track geometry Track geometry is three-dimensional geometry of track layouts and associated measurements used in design, construction and maintenance of railroad tracks. The subject is used in the context of standards, speed limits and other regulations in the areas of track gauge, alignment, elevation, curvature and track surface. Although, the geometry of the tracks is three-dimensional by nature, the standards are usually expressed in two separate layouts for"
"it is still defined in Imperial and U.S. customary units as approximately 4 ft in. As railways developed and expanded, one of the key issues was the track gauge (the distance, or width, between the inner sides of the rails) to be used. Different railways used different gauges, and where rails of different gauge met – a ""gauge break"" – loads had to be unloaded from one set of rail cars and re-loaded onto another, a time-consuming and expensive process. The result was the adoption throughout a large part of the world of a ""standard gauge"" of 1435 mm (4"
"called ties (sleepers) of timber, concrete, steel, or plastic to maintain a consistent distance apart, or rail gauge. Rail gauges are usually categorized as standard gauge (used on approximately 55% of the world's existing railway lines), broad gauge, and narrow gauge. In addition to the rail gauge, the tracks will be laid to conform with a Loading gauge which defines the maximum height and width for railway vehicles and their loads to ensure safe passage through bridges, tunnels and other structures. The track guides the conical, flanged wheels, keeping the cars on the track without active steering and therefore allowing"
"affected by sand dunes are sometimes built on alternate routes so that if one is covered by sand, the other(s) are still serviceable. If the standard track centre is changed, it can take a very long time for most or all tracks to be brought into line. On British lines, the space between the two running rails of a single railway track is called the ""four foot"" (owing to it being 'four foot something' in width), while the space between the different tracks is called the ""six foot"". It is not safe to stand in the gap between the tracks"
"Comparison of train and tram tracks A railway or railroad is a track where the vehicle travels over two parallel steel bars, called rails. The rails support and guide the wheels of the vehicles, which are traditionally either trains or trams. Modern light rail is a relatively new innovation which combines aspects of those two modes of transport. However fundamental differences in the track and wheel design are important, especially where trams or light railways and trains have to share a section of track, as sometimes happens in congested areas. Both trams and trains have flanged iron wheels with a"
"Axle track The axle track in automobiles and other wheeled vehicles which have two or more wheels on an axle, is the distance between the centerline of two roadwheels on the same axle. In a case of the axle with dual wheels, the centerline in the middle of the dual wheel is used for the axle track specification. In a vehicle with two axles, this is expressed as ""front track"" and ""rear track"". However the front wheels and/or rear wheels on either side of a vehicle do not necessarily have to be mounted on the same axle for the distance"
"number of inches of scale per foot. For example, a 1:8 scale locomotive will often be referred to as a 1½"" scale locomotive. Common modelling scales are Gauge 1 (), 1/2"" (), 3/4"" (1:16), 1"" (1:12), 1½"" (1:8), 2½"" (~1:5) and 3"" (1:4). Track gauge refers to the distance between the rails. The ridable track gauges range from to , the most popular being "", "", 5"", "" and "" (see Rail transport modelling scales). Gauges from and up are called ""Miniature Railways"" (in the US these are known as ""Grand Scale Railroads""), and are used mostly in amusement park"
"that supports the two primary rails and a single tertiary rail. The western-most rail is known as ""A rail"", followed by the adjacent ""B rail"" and ""C rail."" The alignment of the rails is nearly north-south. All three rails are fabricated from heavy-duty crane rail (171 lbs/yard or 84.9 kg/meter) and are maintained to an alignment of no more than 0.025 inches (0.635 mm) deviation from a nominal reference line between rail tiedowns. A and B rails constitute the primary rails and are 50,917 feet (15,536 m) long. C rail, located at the north end of the track facility, is"
"or former use. They fall into several broad categories: track gauge (also known as Scotch gauge) was adopted by early 19th-century railways, primarily in the Lanarkshire area of Scotland. lines were also constructed, and both were eventually converted to standard gauge. between the inside of the rail heads, its name and classification vary worldwide and it has about of track. As its name implies, metre gauge is a track gauge of . It has about of track. According to Italian law, track gauges in Italy were defined from the centre of each rail rather than the inside edges of the"
"transit have a rail network design where the number of junctions are minimised. Passengers, and not trains, move from one train station to another. Metro style rail systems have become popular because of their efficiency, and high on-time performance. Another solution to removing junctions is to install a flying junction, where tracks are grade separation, and so one track passes over/under one another. Junction (rail) A junction, in the context of rail transport, is a place at which two or more rail routes converge or diverge. This implies a physical connection between the tracks of the two routes (assuming they"
"Commuter rail Commuter rail, also called suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates between a city centre and middle to outer suburbs beyond 15 km (10 miles) and commuter towns or other locations that draw large numbers of commuters—people who travel on a daily basis. Trains operate following a schedule at speeds varying from 50 to 225 km/h (30 to 140 mph). Distance charges or zone pricing may be used. Non-English names include ""Treno suburbano"" in Italian, ""Cercanías"" in Spanish, ""Rodalies"" in Catalan, ""Proastiakos"" in Greek, ""S-Bahn"" in German (although ""Regionalbahn"" or stopping services occasionally also"
"Main line (railway) The main line, or mainline in American English, of a railway is a track that is used for through trains or is the principal artery of the system from which branch lines, yards, sidings and spurs are connected. It generally refers to a route between towns, as opposed to a route providing suburban or metro services. For capacity reasons, main lines in many countries have at least a double track and often contain multiple parallel tracks. Main line tracks are typically operated at higher speeds than branch lines and are generally built and maintained to a higher"
"narrower prototype gauge and called TT-gauge. N scale N scale is a popular model railway scale. Depending upon the manufacturer (or country), the scale ranges from 1:148 to 1:160. In all cases, the ""gauge"" (the distance between the rails) is . The term N ""gauge"" refers to the track dimensions, but in the United Kingdom in particular British N gauge refers to a 1:148 scale with 1∶160 () track gauge modelling. The terms N scale and N gauge are often inaccurately used interchangeably, as scale is defined as ratio or proportion of the model, and gauge only as a distance"
"the rail-to-rail gauge equal to exactly (at the cost of scale exactness), so when calculating the rail or track use 1∶148 and for engines and car wheel base use 1∶160. All rails are spaced 9 mm apart but the height can differ. Rail height (in thousandths of an inch) is expressed as a ""code"": thus, Code 55 rails are high while Code 80 rails have a height of . Real railroad rails are at least tall and can be taller on some roads, so at true scale the rails would be about high. Many older N-scale models may not run"
"and in common parlance to refer to giving in to distractions apart from a main subject. Sidetracks are used by railroads to order and organize the flow of rail traffic. During the early days of rail, there was considerable variation in the gauge used by different systems. Today, 54.8% of the world's railways use a gauge of , known as standard or international gauge. Gauges wider than standard gauge are called broad gauge; narrower, narrow gauge. Some stretches of track are dual gauge, with three (or sometimes four) parallel rails in place of the usual two, to allow trains of"
"each side of the rail. Wheel–rail interface The wheel–rail interface is the contact area where wheel–rail interaction between wheels and rails in railways takes place. This interaction is a specialist subject covering the design and management of the very high stresses in the small contact area between a steel wheel and steel rail. The focus is on safety improvement, maintenance and replacement costs reduction, downtime reduction, and energy and environmental management. The surface of the wheel that rests on the rail is known as the tread. Wheels can have either a single flange on the gauge side of the rail"
"scale has its own strengths and weaknesses, and fills a different niche in the hobby. The largest models are as much as long, the smallest a few centimeters. The most popular size is HO scale (1:87) and second is N scale (1:160). Model railways originally used the term ""gauge"", which refers to the distance between the rails, just as full-size railways do. Although model railways were also built to different gauges, ""standard gauge"" in 1:1 scale railroads is 4' 8.5"". Therefore, a model railway reduces that standard to scale. An HO scale model railway would have track that is 1/87"
"Junction (rail) A junction, in the context of rail transport, is a place at which two or more rail routes converge or diverge. This implies a physical connection between the tracks of the two routes (assuming they are of the same gauge), provided by ""points"" (US: switches) and signalling. Junctions are important for rail systems, their installation into a rail system can reduce route capacity, and have a powerful impact upon on-time performance. In a simple case where two routes with one or two tracks each meet at a junction, a fairly simple layout of tracks suffices to allow trains"
"the radius as the unit. In curved track, it is usually designed to raise the outer rail, providing a banked turn, thus allowing trains to maneuver through the curve at higher speeds that would otherwise be not possible if the surface was flat or level. It also helps a train steer around a curve, keeping the wheel flanges from pressing the rails, minimizing friction and wear. The measurement of the difference in elevation between the outer rail and the inner rail is called cant in most countries. Sometime the cant is measured in term of angle instead of height difference."
"significant effect on curve performance which includes safety, passenger comfort, and wear and tear of equipment and rails. The term alignment is used in both horizontal and vertical layouts to describe the line uniformity (straightness) of the rails. The horizontal alignment (or alinement in the United States) is done by using a predefined length of string line (such as 62-foot in the US and 20 meters in Australia) to measure along the gauge side of the reference rail. It is the distance (in inches or millimeters) from the midpoint of the string line to the gauge of the reference rail."
"Track (rail transport) The track on a railway or railroad, also known as the permanent way, is the structure consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties (sleepers, British English) and ballast (or slab track), plus the underlying subgrade. It enables trains to move by providing a dependable surface for their wheels to roll upon. For clarity it is often referred to as railway track (British English and UIC terminology) or railroad track (predominantly in the United States). Tracks where electric trains or electric trams run are equipped with an electrification system such as an overhead electrical power line or an"
"distance between the inner surfaces of the heads of travel rails, is an important specification of a railway. Rail tracks and wheel bogies must be built to the same gauge within an engineering tolerance of . If the correct gauge is not achieved, the train will fall off the track and not be able to pass switches and crossovers. Dual gauge trains can use low level platforms because their carriages rest higher than the platform. In the case of three rails and high platforms, one gauge may be too close or too far away, depending on the position of the"
"and operation. If a train's delay exceeds a certain tolerance, it may ""fall out"" of its train path. On congested lines, this may result in additional delays, as such a train is taken to passing sidings whenever necessary to let other trains pass. Train paths are usually shown on a time-distance graph, where time is shown horizontally, and distance (including a representation of the track layout) is shown vertically. Train path A train path is the infrastructure capacity needed to run a train between two places over a given time-period.<ref name=""2001/14/EC"">Definition from Directive 2001/14/EC, Article 2 (l), of the European"
"Monorail A monorail is a railway in which the track consists of a single rail. The term is also used to describe the beam of the system, or the trains traveling on such a beam or track. The term originates from joining ""mono"" (one) and ""rail"" (rail), from 1897, possibly from German engineer Eugen Langen, who called an elevated railway system with wagons suspended the ""Eugen Langen One-railed Suspension Tramway"" (Einschieniges Hängebahnsystem Eugen Langen). Colloquially, the term ""monorail"" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurately, the term refers to the style of"
"for ""garden scale"". G gauge track has a spacing of 45mm between the railheads (tracks) (c.f. 44.45mm for 1 gauge and 53.975mm for wide gauge), but that does not determine the scale to which the models are built because, to maintain a constant track width when real-life counterparts have a variety of railroad gauges, the scale has to vary. The most common full scale practice using a spacing of , whereas some narrow-gauge railways (serving mines, etc.) have rails only apart. Although often built with standard-sized doors, a narrow-gauge train is in most other respects smaller than its standard-gauge cousin:"
"gauge. Previously, in its Mount Union, Pennsylvania yard, the East Broad Top Railroad and Coal Company used dual gauge tracks. In Vietnam, near the border with China, there is and dual gauge track between Hanoi and Đồng Đăng. Other smaller dual gauge sections exist elsewhere in the northeast of the country. Dual gauge A dual gauge railway is a track that allows the passage of trains of two different track gauges. It is sometimes called a ""mixed gauge"" track. A dual gauge track consists of three rails. There will be two vital rails (""gauge"" rails), one for each gauge close"
"Overlap (railway signalling) An overlap in railway signalling is the length of track beyond a stop signal that is proved to be clear of vehicles in the controls of the previous signal, as a safety margin. Enough braking distance is provided to allow a train to comfortably stop at the stop signal, but should it fail to do so for any reason (fog, smoke, slippery rails, brake failure, inattention by driver, etc.) there is still some distance to allow the train to stop short of any obstruction, such as another train. The length of an overlap may be a nominal"
"Wheel–rail interface The wheel–rail interface is the contact area where wheel–rail interaction between wheels and rails in railways takes place. This interaction is a specialist subject covering the design and management of the very high stresses in the small contact area between a steel wheel and steel rail. The focus is on safety improvement, maintenance and replacement costs reduction, downtime reduction, and energy and environmental management. The surface of the wheel that rests on the rail is known as the tread. Wheels can have either a single flange on the gauge side of the rail or two flanges, one on"